I've been focusing on "frugality" for the past month. Not by not spending money, unfortunately, but by spending in a smarter way, trying to change my spending habits. The result: savings and de-cluttering.
Goals I accomplished this month:
- Pay off two credit cards
- Keep a record of monies saved and transfer that amount into savings account, week by week
The only downside here was that I used about half of my extra savings from the summer to pay these bills, together with the in-coming owed money. This means I will have to be more carefully budgeting through the fall to not use the rest of the savings too quickly.
The second goal was also achieved, happily. I had some lucky savings last month and I kept record of it. I dumped it all into my second, secret savings account. I keep record of my savings on a weekly basis, through savvy shopping, using coupons, and online eBates savings and Amazon sales; this is not earned money, but simply monies I save weekly by spending smart. My overall goal: save $1000, and use it to buy a new mattress and box spring. I am now $250.00 towards that goal.
Beyond that, this weekend I dropped off my October Goodwill donation: three super-size shopping bags plus extras. It included clothes, accessories and jewelry, kitchen items (including 7 kitchen towels), sheets, purses, house decor stuff, and a suitbag I hadn't used in ten years. Whew! I feel about 20 lbs lighter, which may be what the drop-off weighed. Plus, I came home and got a head start on November's dropoff with clothes, my big slow cooker, more purses (!), and videos. Photo'd each item for 2010 taxes.
I also have boxes and bags of books started for my December visit to a local used books place. I am accruing CDs, DVDs, videos, and books for that sale. This month, I sold $82 worth of same: 12 boxes and bags of old stuff. Happily, gone, gone gone with the wind!
Beyond that, I have started a consignment shop bag: the better used clothes, boots, and accessories (many actually never used) can be sold for cash, rather than donated. I also have vintage clothes I am thinking about taking to Buffalo Exchange here in town, which pays money or offers equal value exchange.
This week's goal: find a consignment shop in town to visit with these, better label clothes.
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